parks



July 31, 1923.

o. J. PARKS BOX CAR Filed April 4, 1921 2 Shasta-Sheet 2 announce OolilzOnnunQnqOoQOOno uwoaabooneonnnanouauanocan OIODDDUOVO nnuunoocnn no a:uaoynaoouoooononoc osran a. rears, or ronns'r,

dpplieation filed April 2.,

To all whom it may concern:

c it known that I, Osrnarmnn J. PARKS, a citizen of the United States, residing at River Forest, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Box Cars,'of which the following is a specification. I

My invention relates to box cars of the metal roof type; and my primary objects are to provide a strong and durable construction of metal roof, formed from metal sheets, which will be rigid and which shall not be subject to wear of the sheets by the rubbing of the sheets on each other; to pro vide such a structure wherein the joints between the sheets will be water-tight; to provide such a structure wherein provision shall be made for permitting of the expansion and contraction of the roof without impairing the structure; and other objects as will be manifest from the following description.

n Referring to the accompanying drawmgszv Figure 1 is a broken plan view of a car roof constructed in accordance with my invention, Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of the structure shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a plan view of the sheet-metal plates forming one end of the roof, Fig. 4. is a plan view of one of the similar intermediate sheet-metal plates, Fig. 5 is a similar view of the sheet-metal plate forming the other end of the roof, Fig. 6 is an edge View of the Fplate of Fig. 4: viewing it from the right in ig. 4, Fig. 7 is an enlarged section taken at the line 7 on Fig. 2 and viewed in the direction of the arrow; and Fig. 8, an enlarged sectional view taken at the line 8 on Fig. 1 and viewed in the direction of the arrow.

The construction of the car shown, except as to its roof-portion, is of common construction and detailed showing and description thereof is therefore unnecessary. It may be stated, however, that as shown, the car at the upper portions of its sides is provided with longitudinally-extending angle-iron girders 9 to the rear surfaces of the vertical flanges of which the plates 10 forming the side-walls of the car and the upright angle-irons 11 reinforcing the sides of the car, are riveted as indicated at 12.

In accordance with the particular illus- ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL L G TANK CAB CORPORATION, 0F CEICAGG, ILLINDIS, A CQRFGRATION OF H 5.

1921. Serial E0. $58,181.

trated construction, the car is provided at intervals along its length, with carlines 13 which extend crosswise of the car and are connected, at depending. flanges 13", as by the rivets 12, with the sides of the car at the upper edge-portions thereof, the carlines shown being in the form of angleirons bent midway of their ends to incline downwardly from the median line of the roof in opposite directions toward the sides of the car to produce the desired pitch to the roof formed of the sheet-metal plates applied thereto.

The carlines 13 thus produce a roof framework upon which the plates forming the roof proper are laid and secured. The roof-plates referred to, and which are of such gage-as to be relatively rigid, say of about No. 10 gage steel, comprise two end plates of the same construction, one of which is represented at 14. a center plate I represented at 15 and located at the center of the car and. plates 16 which extend between the center plate and the end plates 14 and 15 respectively. The plates shown are of such length as to extend the full width of the car, but it will be understood that,'if desired, they may be provided of such size that they will reach from the median line of the car outwardly to the desired distance, in which case double the number of the plates, each of substantially one-half the length ofthose shown would be provided and they would be joined at their meeting edges at the median line of the car in any suitable manner[- Referring to the intermediate plates 16 each is formed along one of its edges, extending crosswise of the car, with an upwardly-extending corrugation, represented at 17 set in from the extreme edge of the plate to cause the latter to-present the flat portion 18 beyond this corrugation, and at its opposite edge with an upwardly-curved portion 19 preferably describing an arcof not more than 90. provided along one edge, extending crosswise of the car, with an upwardly-extending corrugation 20, corresponding with the Each end-plate 14 is.

corrugation 17, and set in from the extreme edge of the plate tocausethe latter to present the fiat portion 2l.be'yond this corru gation. The center plate 15 is provided along one edge, extending crosswise of the I car, with an upwardly-curved portion 22 corresponding with the curved portions 19 of the plates 16. The portions 17, 19, and 22 are shown as extending short of the ends of the plates containing them, but it will be understood that, if desired, these portions may extend to the extreme outer edges of the plates.

In the assembling of the plates with each other and with the carlines, to form the roof, the intermediate plates to be positioned next to, and at opposite sides of, the center plate 15 are laid upon the latter to cause the corrugations 17 to nest with the underlying curved portions 22,as shown of the one joint in Fig. 8, and the various other intermediate plates 16 laid in overlapping position relative to each other to nest at their portions 19 with the corrugations 17 thereof, the intermediate plates 16 laid next to the ones of the intermediate plates which overlap plate 15 at its opposite edges, as stated, nesting at their portions 17 with the underlying portions 19 of the last-referred-to intermediate plates. The end plates 14: are arranged to cause their uncorrugated edges to extend at the extreme ends of the roof, these plates overlapping, at their corrugations 20, the portions 19 of'the adjacent intermediate plates 16. The plates are so proportioned and the carlines so located, that the flat portions 18 and 21 ot' the plates will extend directly above alternate carlines, to which latter these plates are rigidly secured in any suitable way, preferably by riveting them thereto as represented at 23, the r vets also extending through the portions of the adj acent plates underlying the flat portions 18 and 21 and serving to hold all of these members rigidly together. The plates are shown as provided with rivet-holes 24: around the four sides of each plate, and also, except as to plate 14, a central row of rivet-holes 25, adapting the plates to be riveted in position to the side and end girders of the car at the upper ends of the walls thereof, also to the carlines as stated, and at their intermediate rows of rivet holes 25, to the carlines alternating with the ones through which the rivets 23 extend, the rivets which extend through the rivet-holes 25 being represented at 26.

It will thus be understood that the plates, thus secured together, constitute, in effect, a rigid unitary structure, and that while the plates are rigidly held together against movement one upon the other, they are not subjected to such stresses, in the expanding and contracting of the roof structure, as will impair the joints between them, due to the provision of the corrugations in the plate which, in the expanding and contracting of the roof-structure, permit of suflicient flexing of the plates at these portions to relieve the joints of such undue stresses, these corrugations operating to so graduate the stresses produced by expansion and contraction that such joint impairing stresses are not produced. Furthermore, as the structure is preferably provided, the carlines may flex slightly which also aids in preventing expansion and contraction stresses from unduly stressing the structure.

The provision of the nesting portions 17 and 19 serve to provide a very efit'ective water-tight joint between the plates which is nrt impaired in use, the securing of the plates together at the rivets 23 causing the plates to fit closely against each other and the upwardly-inclining joints between the nesting portions referred to preventing water, should it enter between the overlapping flat parts of the plates, from passing through the roof.

The plates referred to preferably are formed with depending lips 27 at their outer edges which extend beyond the side girders and serve to prevent water from entering between the'plates and these girders.

If desired the carlines may be omitted in which case the plates would be provided of heavier gauge metal to provide the requisite strength and stiffness.

Furthermore, the structure may be otherwise greatly modified and altered without departing from the spirit of my invention.

What ll claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

A roof structure comprising, in combination, a relatively rigid metal plate having a corrugation of substantially cylindrical outline adjacent one edge thereof, and a horizontal portion between said corrugation and the edge of the plate, a second plate under lapping said horizontal portion and having a corrugation upon its edge formed upon a section of substantially 90 of a cylindrical surface nesting with said first named corrugation, a ca-rline supporting said overlapped portions only and free from contact with either of said plates at other portions, tastening means passing through said overlapped portions and said carline whereby relative movement of said plates is possible whether produced by temperature changes or weaving of the car without detrimental effect upon said joint.

()STRANDER J. PARKS. 

